black bile en · NOUN
Etymology
Calque of Latin ātra bīlis, itself a calque of Ancient Greek μελαγχολία (melankholía).
Meanings
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(historical, uncountable) One of the four humours of ancient and mediaeval physiology, that was believed to be secreted by the kidneys and spleen and to cause melancholy and sadness when present in excess.
But these various pursuits did not banish all her cares, or carry off all her constitutional black bile.
1788, Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary: A Fiction:The problem with treating cancer surgically, Galen suggested, was that black bile was everywhere, as inevitable and pervasive as any fluid.
2011, Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of all Maladies, Fourth Estate, page 49:
Coordinates
yellow bile · blood · phlegm
Synonyms
Translations (26)
it atrabile (Translations) · fr bile noire (Translations) · nl zwarte gal (Translations) · es bilis negra (Translations) · de schwarze Galle (Translations) · it bile nera (Translations) · fa گش سیاه (Translations) · cmn 黑膽汁 /黑胆汁 (Translations) · ota سودا (Translations) · fi musta sappi (Translations) · pl czarna żółć (Translations) · es atrabilis (Translations) · pt bílis negra (Translations) · fr atrabile (Translations) · sv svart galla (Translations) · sh crna žuč (Translations) · tr sevda (Translations) · hi सौदा (Translations) · it umor nero (Translations) · ga lionn dubh (Translations) · ar سَوْدَاء (Translations) · fa سودا (Translations) · pt bile negra (Translations) · fr mélancolie (Translations) · it collera (Translations) · ru чёрная желчь (Translations)